Modular sand mold



Aug. 26,1969 0. Hum 3,463,221

' MODULAR SAND MOLD Filed July 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 Fig.2

L y I C/oyd Til/ery IN VIJNTOR.

Aug. 26, 1969 c. TILLERY MODULAR SAND MoLb C/oyd Til/ery IN V LNTOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 27, 1967 United States Patent 3,463,221 MODULAR SAND MOLD Cloyd Tillery, Pi). Drawer 1288, Phenix City, Ala. 36867 Filed July 27, 1967, Ser. No. 656,528 Int. Cl. B22c 9/02 US. Cl. 164-350 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A modular sand mold adapted to be booked with a plurality of similar molds to simultaneously cast a plurality of metallic articles in generally vertically disposed mold cavities. Each mold is provided with an integral core and wherein one side of the mold is provided with a pattern relief for one surface of an article to be cast and the other side of the mold is provided with a pattern relief corresponding to the configuration of the other side of the article to be cast. Thus in booked relation a plurality of mold cavities formed are in close proximity whereby the articles cast therein will tend to retain heat for a significant period of time so as to render the articles cast relatively self-annealing whereby relatively low grade iron may be utilized to produce relatively ductile, malleable castings. A significant constructional feature of this invention comprises the configuration of the sprue, gate, runner and riser of the mold which facilitates the simultaneous casting of a plurality of generally vertically disposed articles of uniform quality by ensuring even, slag-free filling of the mold cavities.

The present invention relates to a novel casting mold and more particularly to a modular mold adapted to be booked in series with a plurality of similar molds to permit the simultaneous casting of a plurality of articles in the mold cavities defined therebetween. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel casting mold provided with improved sprue, gate, runner and riser means adapted to greatly facilitate the casting of slag-free articles.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel construction for a foundry mold which greatly facilitates the simultaneous casting of a plurality of articles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel construction for a foundry mold wherein the mold is provided with a novel sprue, gate, runner and riser configuration wherein when clamped in booked relation a plurality of similar molds are characterized by interconnecting sprues whereby each mold cavity simultaneously, and equally, receives molten metal at a generally uniform pressure.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved foundry mold, such :as of phenolic or furan resin consolidated sand, wherein the novel construction of the sprue, gate, runner and riser cavities, and specifically the placement of the riser cavity, facilitates the simultaneous casting of relatively slag-free articles.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved foundry mold adapted to permit the simultaneous casting of a plurality of generally vertically disposed articles in relatively close proximity so as to render the articles self-annealing whereby relatively low grade iron may be utilized to produce high grade castings.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved foundry mold wherein the mold may be shelled to permit placement of a heat producing com position in the shelled portion of the mold to assist in annealing the articles cast therein.

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These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of one half of an exemplary embodiment of a vacuum mold box suitable for forming an exemplary embodiment of a resin consolidated sand mold in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of a mold box portion which cooperates with the mold box portion of FIGURE 1 to form a complete exemplary mold box;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one side of a resin consolidated sand mold formed in the mold box of FIG- URES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the reverse side of the mold of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of molds, as illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, operatively clamped in booked relation;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a plurality of disclike castings produced by simultaneously pouring molten metal into the booked molds of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of a resin consolidated sand mold, similar to the mold illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, but which is shelled.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and FIGURES 1 and 2 in particular, it will be seen that the present invention contemplates the utilization of a two-part mold box indicated generally at 10 within which may be formed a mold, such as of phenolic or furan resin consolidated sand and the like. An exemplary embodiment of a sand mold formed in the mold box 10 is indicated generally at 12 as seen best in FIGURES 3 and 4. The mold box 10 comprises mating portions 14 and 16 preferably, although not necessarily, formed of cast iron to resist undue wear by virtue of the grinding action of the resin-sand mixture being introduced therein to form the sand mold 12. The mold box 14 further includes a base plate 18 having upstanding peripheral side and bottom walls 20 and 21 respectively which define a cavity therebetween corresponding to the exterior dimensions of the mold 12. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the body portion 18 is provided with a pattern relief indicated generally at 22 for the casting of a generally circular disc-like article. The top of the mold box portion 14 is partially closed by inwardly and upwardly projecting top portions 24 integral with the portion 18. The pattern 22 for an article to be cast by a mold formed in the box 10 is in communication with the upper peripheral edge 26 of the mold box portion 14 by virtue of an upstanding pattern indicated generally at 28 which is integral with and upstands from the portion 18 and includes a sprue pattern portion 30, a riser pattern portion 32, a gate pattern portion 34 and a runner pattern portion 36. The sprue pattern portion 30 extends upwardly from the base portion 18 a distance equivalent to the height of the peripheral elements 20, 21 and 24. However, the riser pattern portion 32, gate pattern portion 34 and runner pattern portion 36 extend upwardly from the base portion 18 a distance less than the height of the peripheral elements 24), 21 and 24. The mold box portion 14 is preferably provided with one or more mold box vents such as indicated at 38 through which a vacuum may be drawn on the interior of the mold box to assist in accurately filling the mold box with a resin-sand mixture. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the pattern 22 comprises the pattern for one half of a disclike article to be cast thereby. In addition, and as will become more apparent hereinafter, the pattern 22 in the base portion 18 is so designed so as to facilitate casting an article with the article substantially on one side of the parting line so as to make it possible to form a relatively thin mold for reasons which will become apparent hereinafter.

The mold box portion 14 is closed by the cover portion 16 which in the embodiment illustrated is provided with an upstanding ring and vane core pattern indicated generally at 40. The mold cover 16 may also be provided with mold box vents as the one indicated generally at 38 which may also assist in providing locator lugs to assist in aligning one sand mold with another when they are booked or nested together, as will be discussed hereinafter. With the cover portion 16 in place against the mold box portion 14, wherein they are preferably doweled together, a suitable resin-sand mixture may be blown into the cavity formed therebetween through the openings indicated generally at 42 in the top of the mold box and as indicated previously the filling of the mold box may be facilitated by drawing a vacuum through the mold box vents 38 to ensure complete filling of the mold box cavity.

Upon opening of the mold box subsequent to filling the consolidated sand mold 12 produced will be seen to be provided with a sprue 31 extending completely from the front face 44 to the rear face 46 of the mold 12. Integral with the sprue 31 is a riser indicated at 33 which communicates only with the face 44 of the mold 12. In addition, a gate 35 is in communication with the riser 33 and a runner 37 which only communicates with the face 44 of the mold 12. Thus, as will be appreciated from a simul taneous consideration of FIGURES 3 and 4, two molds 12 when clamped in cooperative relationship, i.e. booked, wherein the front face 44 of one is contiguous with the rear face 46 of another, the sprue 31 of one mold 12 will be in direct communication with the sprue 31 of another mold 12. However, the riser 33, gate 35 and runner 37 of each mold 12 will not be directly in communication with the respective sprue, gate and runner of an adjacent mold 12.

Referring now to FIGURE 7 it will be seen that another embodiment of a mold indicated generally at 120 produced in accordance with the present invention is shelled as indicated at 122 wherein a portion of the resinsand mixture is poured out by inverting the mold box before the resin-sand mixture blown into the mold box during make-up of the mold 120 has consolidated sufficiently. As indicated previously a mold such as the mold 120 would be shelled such as at 122 when it was found desirable to introduce a heat producing composition, such as Thermit, for example, which is the Metal 8: Thermit Corporation trademark for a mixture of iron oxide and finely divided aluminum, into the shelled portion 122 so as to assist in maintaining a casting within an annealing temperature range for a greater period of time than might otherwise be possible without the use of a heat producing composition within the shelled portion 122 of a mold.

Referring now to the utilization of the molds 12 and 120, and referring particularly to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that a plurality of molds 12, formed in the mold box as discussed hereinabove, have been placed, and preferably clamped by clamping means 50 in a booked relation wherein the front face 44 and the rear face 46 of the several molds 12 are clamped in contiguous sealed relation with the sprue 31 upwardly disposed so as to form an interconnecting pouring basin common to all of the molds 12. In addition, the molds 12 operatively positioned in the clamping means 50 are backed up with appropriate blind backing members 52 and 54 to provide an end wall for the interconnected sprues 31 and prevent a blow-out of the end molds in a series of molds 12 due to pressure therewithin. Although not shown, it will be understood that the interface between the back-up members 52 and 54 may be provided with a cavity corresponding to the configuration of an article being cast within the molds 12 whereby an article casting run may actually be placed between the back-up members 52 and 54 to assist in supporting the adjacent end molds 12.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, and the plurality of integrally cast plates 21 illustrated therein, it will be appreciated that when molten metal is poured into the interconnecting sprues 31 of the booked molds 12, seen in FIGURE 5, slag still present in the molten material in the pouring ladle, which has been inadvertently missed during removal of the slag therefrom, upon entering the sprue 31 and proceeding toward the gate 25 will be free to rise within the riser 33 rather than being carried down through the gate 25, runner 37 and thence into the patterned cavity defining the mold cavity for the article 21. From the foregoing it will thus be apparent that a novel mold produced in accordance with the invention, when placed in the booked relation shown in FIGURE 5, facilitates uniformly pouring a cluster of the molds by virtue of the interconnecting sprues 31. In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this greatly expedites pouring and consequently reduces the cost of pouroif in addition to making it much easier to pour. Furthermore it will be appreciated that each casting is subjected to substantially the same pressure unlike vertical stack pouring of a plurality of articles through one common sprue, wherein the bottom molds are subjected to more pressure than the top molds and swelling and burst-outs occur regardless of the fact that backup materials such as steel shot and sand may be utilized.

When utilizing molds produced in accordance with the invention castings, in a cluster of castings, can be made as close as A" apart so as to keep the castings red hot for an hour or longer depending upon the thickness of the article. This generally renders the articles self-am nealing. In addition, as will be apparent from a consideration of the mold of FIGURE 7, the annealing time can be lengthened by the addition of carbonaceous material such as coke, sea-coal, or the like to the shelled area 122 whereby under the influence of the temperature of the molten metal entering the mold cavity the carbonaceous material will ignite whereby the castings will take a significantly longer period of time to cool thereby greatly facilitating self-annealing of the articles being cast. Conversely, if desired, the shelled portion 122 of a mold such as the mold 120 may be left empty, such as when a high permeability sand is used for formation of the mold 120 so as to permit venting of gases through the shelled portion 122 if desired. From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that foundry molds produced in accordance with the present invention are highly desirable for the multiple casting of a plurality of articles particularly wherein it is desirable or necessary to anneal the articles.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A modular foundry mold element comprising a body portion having article defining pattern means formed on both sides thereof, one of said article defining pattern means being a pattern for one side of an article to be cast, said other article defining pattern means being a pattern for the other side of an article to be cast, said body portion being provided with a normally upwardly disposed sprue means, said sprue means extending between and communicating with said sides of said mold element whereby when a plurality of said modular mold elements are secured in contiguous relation adjacent sprue means are directly interconnected in series relation, a riser means in communication with one side of said mold element and including portions extending laterally and vertically from said sprue means in communication therewith, a gate means in communication with said same one side of said mold element as said riser and in communication therewith, and a runner means in communication with said same one side of said mold element as said riser means, said runner means communicating said gate means with one of said pattern defining means.

2. The mold element of claim 1 wherein said gate means is in direct communication with said laterally extending portion of said riser means at a point laterally spaced from said sprue means.

3. The mold element of claim 2 wherein said vertically extending portion of said riser means and said gate means are normally in generally vertical alignment.

4. The mold element of claim 1 wherein said mold element is shelled by being provided with an internal cavity in communication with the top edge of said element, said internal cavity being noncommunicating with said sprue, riser, gate, runner and pattern defining means.

5. A multiple foundry mold comprising in combination a plurality of booked modular foundry mold elements each comprising a body portion having article defining pattern means formed on both sides thereof, one of said article defining pattern means being a pattern for one side of an article to be cast, said other article defining pattern means being a pattern for the other side of an article to be cast, means for releasably securing said mold elements in contiguous relation, said body portion being provided with a normally upwardly disposed sprue means, said sprue means extending between and communicating with said sides of said mold element whereby adjacent sprue means are directly interconnected in series relation, backing members providing opposed end walls for said interconnected sprue means, a riser means communication 6 with one side of said mold element and including portions extending laterally and vertically from said sprue means in communication therewith, a gate means in communication with said same one side of said mold element as said riser and in communication therewith, and a runner means in communication with said same one side of said mold element as said riser means, said runner means communicating said gate means with one of said pattern defining means.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said gate means is in direct communication with said laterally extending portion of said riser means at a point laterally spaced from said sprue means.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said vertically extending portion of said riser means and said gate means are normally in generally vertical alignment.

8. The combination of claim 5 wherein said mold element is shelled by being provided with an internal cavity in communication with the top edge of said element, said internal cavity being noncommunicating with said sprue, riser, gate, runner and pattern defining means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 539,209 5/1895 Adams 164-350 1,291,390 1/1919 Broadbent l64350 1,653,232 12/1927 Smith l64350 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner ROBERT D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner US. 01. X.R. 164-459 

